An eclectic brew of odds and ends designed to get people to read short devotional Christian thoughts about the news of the day, or at least what seems to be the hot topic of discussion in the blogosphere.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Doing It Right

He would do most of his youth ministry outside the four walls of the youth room.

He would bring the "un" ones (dirty, flirty and rejected) into his inner circle.

He would confront the status quo in the youth group and church at large.

His hair would be way too long to be taken seriously.

There are a lot of things to like and dislike about this piece. Let's start with the dislikes - why is this a youth minister thing? These principles seems right for pastoring generally. Secondly, there is no delegation involved. Even Jesus sent out his disciples.

And now for the likes. I love the idea that ministry is something that happens outside of the facility. We face a two-edged sword in our church facilities. The amount of resources we expend to build and maintain them would demand that we use them to their fullest. But the people that need the gospel are OUT THERE. This is where the idea of delegation comes in. The ministry professional should probably work in the confines of the facility - but their work should be to prepare and send people out.

The idea of working with the "un" is old, just dressed up in the latest language. One of the more fascinating aspects of age to me has been how those that seemed insignificant in high school are very significant now and in many cases the reverse. Achievement matters, but cool does not, and often those that achieve are uncool precisely because of their achievement. I think youth ministry should think more about the future and less about the immediate. Focusing on individuals that will have an impact beyond the high school years may just change everything.